Stouthearted Poems
by AMX
Summary: The Eds have gotten one tough English assignment: they have to write an original poem! All three boys think they're sunk, but then they realize that inspiration comes from the most unlikely places...
1. Eddy's poem: My Night with the King

**Author's Note**: This small story came to mind because we're studying poems in my English class. Although I haven't really tried my hand at poetry, I figured I might as well make a story out of these poems. And don't worry; I'm not giving up on my other stories. Happy reading!-**AMX

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Eddy was sitting at his desk at home, staring at the _still _blank piece of paper in front of him. What the heck had his English teacher been _thinking_?! Why did he have to get such a stupid assignment? However, Eddy knew there would be consequences if he didn't do this assignment; his grades were bad enough, and he had already received some severe tongue lashings from his father for it. But how was he supposed to do the assignment if he didn't have any ideas? 

So Eddy did the only logical thing he could think of. He picked up his phone and called the smartest person he knew: his friend Edd (aka Double D).

"Still having trouble, Eddy?" the slightly annoyed voice on the other end asked.

"I can't get any good ideas!" said Eddy.

"Well, _I _have this assignment too, Eddy," said Double D. "And I refuse to give you any more ideas if you're going to keep saying that all my suggestions are 'lame'."

"Well, all your ideas are boring!" said Eddy. "I just need to . . . "

"Good-bye, Eddy."

_Click. _

"No! Double D! Don't hang . . . " But it was too late. The line was dead.

Eddy sighed and hung up the phone. Man, he wasn't getting a break _anywhere_ today! Well, he obviously couldn't get any help from Double D, that no-good friend!

That's when Eddy's eyes fell on _it_. The dusty old map kept on his desk. He knew all too well what it was for. It was the map that led him to Halloween Town. Eddy remembered how he, Double D, and their other friend, Ed, followed that map, only to meet a friendly skeleton by the name of Jack Skellington. He remembered how Jack's crazy plan to take over Christmas that year helped him and Eddy realize that they had something in common: they missed Eddy's older brother.

"_Man, I wish Jack was here,_" said Eddy. "_He likes this mushy poem stuff . . . _"

That's when Eddy's eyes lit up. A small flame of an idea was building. But could he make something out of it. Without thinking, he picked up his pencil, and words began appearing across his paper.

My Night with the King  
A poem by Eddy

_He is the  
__Undisputed king  
__Of moonlit terror.  
__The bravest tremble  
__At the sound of his name.  
__Fear follows him  
__Wherever he goes,  
__And his performances  
__Result in worldwide fame._

_He's tall and frail  
__To the point that  
__It's unhuman,  
__To say the least.  
__His high-pitched shrieks  
__Make all who hear it  
__Turn pale;  
__He's described as  
__A truly frightening beast._

_But like in most cases,  
__Looks are deceiving._

_Here he is:  
__The Fright Master,  
__who has it all.  
__A true king._

_But I ask you this:  
__Have you ever  
__Met a king  
__Whose only wish  
__Was to throw it all away?_

_It's true;  
__This legend was  
__A terror at night,  
__But an emotional mess  
__Throughout the day._

_Then, one day, by chance,  
__He found something new.  
__A truly remarkable sight it was.  
__It was nothing  
__Like the things he had  
__Back home.  
__He wanted it all  
__For himself._

_And unfortunately . . .  
__I was brought along  
__For the ride._

_He said I was the expert,  
__And that I can't deny.  
__But before anyone knew it  
__He took the whole thing  
__To a whole another level._

_Before I knew it,  
__We were both flying  
__In the starry sky  
__Unaware of the danger  
__Happening below us._

_And then . . .  
__It happened._

_When we came to,  
__We realized we had been  
__Shot down and abandoned._

_Rejected.  
__Failed.  
__Shattered._

_But that didn't stop him.  
__Not by a long shot._

_Before I knew it,  
__We were at it again  
__And we were able  
__To save our friends._

_A lot happened that night.  
__But one thing stood out  
__Above all the rest._

_You see, this new friend  
__And I  
__Found something out  
__That's more important to us  
__Than anything else._

_We both miss someone dearly._

_And that someone is . . .  
__A secret._

_But I will tell you this:  
__That's one night  
__I will not soon forget._

_That was,  
__and is,  
__My Night with the King._

Eddy put his pencil down. He stared at the words he had absent-mindedly written on his paper. Had he really written all of that?

He sat back in his chair in disbelief. He had taken one idea and turned it into a full-length poem. And he had hardly even been trying! He looked at his poem again.

"Eddy's Poetry School . . . " he said out loud. "A little feminine, but not a bad idea . . . "


	2. Double D's poem: Stitches

Double D sighed as he disconnected his phone from his wall. That had been the fifth time _that hour _Eddy had called him, trying to get an idea for his poem. Maybe now he could actually find an idea for himself.

Yes, that's right. Double D _himself _was having trouble with his homework! Now, if this was a math assignment, he could do it no problem. But this was _poetry_. Not exactly the most masculine thing in the world around Peach Creek.

But then Double D remembered that some of the most famous poets were, in fact, men. If they could do it, so could he! But first, he needed an angle.

As he dug around in his desk for more paper, Double D's eyes fell on something else in his bottom drawer. His old weapon from Halloween Town; the Death Rattle. Double D suddenly went back to his and his friends' trips to Halloween Town. He remembered how he had befriended the interesting residents of this intriguing town. The Mayor, Dr. Finkelstein, the Hanging Tree . . .

And then there was Sally.

Sally was one of Jack Skellington's closest friends. Like Double D, she thought Jack's plan to take over Christmas was going to equal bad news. When Jack and Eddy had been shot down, they had tried to fix the mess themselves, but ended up getting in trouble themselves. Luckily, Jack and Eddy saved the day just in time.

"_Sally would love this assignment . . . _" Double D thought.

Just then, an idea crept into his head. Maybe he could do this assignment. He picked up his pencil.

Stitches  
A poem by Eddward

_Stitches.  
__They run across her pale skin  
__Like threaded scars.  
__She lived in constant fear  
__That everything could go wrong._

_Stitches.  
__One pull of them and she's torn apart.  
__Sometimes it's good,  
__Sometime's it's bad.  
__It's not her fault;  
__She was made that way._

_Stitches.  
__They keep her together  
__And if they break off  
__All she does is fix them  
__Until they break again._

_Stitches.  
__They make her body uneasy  
__And her tattered body  
__Reflects her clothes  
__And her fears  
__That her whole world  
__Could fall apart at her feet._

_Stitches.  
__They're used to hold things together  
__But she's constantly  
__Pulling herself apart.  
__This helped her almost  
__Save someone.  
__Almost._

_Stitches.  
__Although they did not help her succeed,  
__She still did her best,  
__And in the end,  
__It all worked out for her  
__And her dearest friends._

_Stitches.  
__And through it all  
__There was one man  
__Who saw past these stitches,  
__These scars,  
__And saw her inner beauty  
__Was greater  
__Than anything she had  
__On the outside._

_Stitches.  
__Maybe they're not as bad  
__As one would think._

Double D gazed admiringly at his work. He had no idea that he could express himself like that! And, somehow, he had been able to write about some subjects that he could never be able to just talk about in a conversation.

"Indeed . . . " he mumbled as he stared at the paper. "They're _not _as bad as one would think . . . "


	3. Ed's poem: Lothar Defeats the Oogie Man

Ed pouted and stared at his blank piece of paper. It wasn't fair that Sarah had threatened to tell Mom if she caught him goofing off instead of doing his homework. But still, if Sarah told Mom, then Mom would tell Dad, and Dad would just sit there and watch TV!

But still, how was Ed supposed to write a poem? That wasn't something the mighty Ed would do! It was so. . . shudder GIRLY! Yucky mushy girls!

"Lothar does not have to do homework . . . " Ed grumbled. "Lothar conquers all . . . "

Ed gazed at his old Lothar Viking costume on the other side of his room. He remembered the last time he had been Lothar. He had been sent on a special mission to keep Santa company while Jack Skellington was taking over as Santa that night.

However, Lothar and Santa were tricked. They had been taken to the villainous Oogie Boogie instead! But, like a true elf, Lothar protected Santa until the end, and Lothar conquered all!

Well . . . okay, it was actually Eddy and Jack who got rid of Oogie. But still, Lothar had protected Santa, which meant that he had done his job right!

"Lothar should be conquering evil . . . " Ed muttered. "Not writing yucky mushy poems . . . "

Ed remembered how he had protected Santa from that pure evil potato sack filled with bugs. He remembered how Oogie had hoisted them into the air on hooks. He looked at his paper. Then, on a whim, he picked up his pencil and began writing nonsense all over his paper. And, somewhere amidst all the nonsense, _this _was found in it.

LoThAR DeFEatS tHe OoGie MaN  
My nAme is ED

_He wAs a tRue MonSTer  
__BriGHt grEEn with an uGly lAUgh.  
__GamBLER  
__SaDIstiC  
__WanTEd to huRt SantA!_

_He had tHRee BrATs  
__Who would DO his DiRtY wORk  
__FoR him.  
__They reMind Lothar of  
__BaBY SisTER._

_LotHar'S JoB  
__Was to prOteCt SanTA  
__From this uGly OOgiE MaN.  
__LOtHaR shaLL ConQuer AlL!_

_EARTH IS NOT YOUR SALAD BAR!_

_LoTHaR deFeaTed OoGIe MaN  
__WiTh his tRustY FliPPer!  
__LoThaR is SucH a GooD ElF!_

_ALL can NoW reST in PeaCE  
__BeCauSE LOThaR has  
__DispOSEd of this AtrociTY  
__To our SoCIETy!_

_LoTHAR has DeFeatEd the OOgiE mAn  
__And OnCE agaIN ConQuers all!_

_Aww . . . Ain'T ChriStMAs so SwEEt?_

Ed gave a content smile at his new masterpiece. Now everyone was sure to know how Lothar was a hero!

"Well, that's a keeper," he said. "I'm such a good boy!"


	4. Epilogue

BRRRIIIIIIIING!

The final bell. Free at last!

The three Eds had just gotten their poetry assignments back. And there were definitely mixed expressions.

"A-?" Eddy asked, looking at his paper. "How the heck?"

"You should be proud, Eddy," said Double D. "You took your whole experience with Jack and turned it into something that was very interesting to read."

"Well, it's nothing compared to your usual A-double plus," said Eddy.

"What did you get, Ed?" asked Double D.

"An A, plus . . . " said Ed.

"Are you serious?" asked Eddy. "This _must _be a sign of the Apocalypse."

"No, I got an A, plus . . . " Ed tried again. "What's this say, Double D?"

Double D looked at the teacher's handwriting written across Ed's paper. "_Another _trip to the school counselor, Ed?" he asked.

"Okay, _that _makes more sense," said Eddy.

"But Lothar conquered all!" said Ed.

"We know you did, Lumpy," said Eddy.

"Do you think you should show them to . . . you know . . . " said Double D.

"Sure!" said Eddy. "They'll get a kick out of these!"

"Yeah!" said Ed.

"So it's agreed?" asked Double D. "We show these to them next Halloween?"

"Heck, yeah!" said Eddy. He then put his hand out. "'Stouthearted Eds' on three, okay?"

"Of course," said Double D, putting his hand on top of Eddy's.

"Awesome!" said Ed, putting his hand on top of Double D's.

"One, two, three . . . "

"STOUTHEARTED EDS!"

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**Author's Note**: So, what did you think? I basically wrote these poems on a whim, so I don't expect them to be the greatest. Feedback is greatly appreciated!-**AMX**


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